South Australia - Miscellany

Squatters and Pastoralists

Also see:
South Australia - Northern Lands Development and Allied Matters
Place Names - Pekina.

Land Use by Early Settlers in the Lower South East

(Taken from an unpublished manuscript by Geoffrey H. Manning titled "A History of the Lower South East District of South Australia in the 19th Century")

But unless I were inclined to give both sides of the cases, and go into the question at great length, it would not be fair to give an ex parte statement of those of the Penola people who believe that dummyism was still being practised at their doors. The difficulty was to define it with sufficient distinctness to enable the officers of the law to punish the dummy and his moving spirit.

The first sheep reached the colony with the pioneers who landed in 1836, but the difficulties of transport were explained by Charles Hare in a letter to George Fife Angas in London on 28 November 1836, from Kingscote, Kangaroo Island:

I wrote an account of the heavy gales and their unpleasant consequences at the Cape. I sent you a sworn statement of circumstances in connection with them. Your agents there sent you a protest against Captain Nelson, and accounts of the affairs besides. After closing my melancholy business there, I put Mrs Hare on board at our lives' peril.

The gale increased, and a series of losses and disasters occurred in constant succession, until our arrival in this place. We lost after we had cleared out, but while in the bay, our best Vriesland cow. On the 8th our best grey mare died after a heavy squall. On the 16th the second cow died; I skinned her and tied the toughest pieces of her hide on the chafed and sore places of the stallion and two mares. On the 19th the little black mare died. On the 22nd our brown mare died. On the 27th our stallion, with three Cape, four English sheep, five goats and all our remaining poultry died, or were rather killed.

It was a perfect hurricane, in which we lost our foresail, our fore-topsail, main topsail and almost everything else. I had four men attend the cattle and I never suffered them night or day to be alone. While they were alive I made it a point of conscience to be up at least twice every night, mostly three times, and frequently all night to watch them. I had them slung all the time.

I have had as many as eight bags of hay round and about the mares, with sheepskins round their ropes, etc., to prevent them chafing. In the course of a single night, such was the rolling of the ship, etc., that it has frequently cut through a bag of hay and cut half an inch into their flesh.

By every means which my knowledge of medicine and cattle could suggest, did I do my best to keep them alive. If they had been my own I would have cut their throats and thrown them overboard, in mercy to them, long before they died. They were, without exception, before they died, the most miserable mass of wounds, bruises and sores, that I ever beheld. I landed one sheep here; one died in the boat. You will be glad to hear that the half-Merino rams are alive still. The ship came in here in an almost wrecked condition... In as bad condition as the Emma came in here, I found the settlement in a perhaps worse condition.

This livestock was obtained from flocks in Saxony, together with Leicesters and Southdowns from England and the Cape of Good Hope and, by 1841, that company held 20,000 sheep. By April 1837 it was estimated that there were about 3,000 sheep here. But it was by overlanding that the flocks gained their greatest increase. In October 1836 a man named Clint offered to drive 2,000 head of stock overland from New South Wales, but it was not until between January and April 1838 that Hawdon and Bonney proved the overland route practicable by bringing 300 head of cattle down the Murray from New South Wales. Early in 1839 Bonney demonstrated that the coastal journey from Port Phillip to Adelaide was practicable for sheep.

The first shipment of wool was made in August 1838 by the South Australian Company when four bales were sent to London. The inevitable slump came and, in 1849, sheep sold as low as 5 shillings and 3 pence a head. Conditions improved again and by 1870 the colony boasted of 4,400,655 sheep, rising to a little less than eight million by the turn of the 20th century.

Prior to 1851 squatters held their runs on the uncertain tenure of an annual licence for which they paid a fee of £10, irrespective of the area of the land upon which their sheep and cattle were depastured. They could lose their runs every time their licences expired, while in the interim period their holdings could be cut up into sections and sold without any prior notice. All improvements on the runs were made at their own risk and if they built shepherds' huts, or expended any money in preparing permanent watering places for stock, they were liable to have the said land put up to auction and sold without any recompense. Thus, in such circumstances they had no alternative other than sacrifice all that which had been accomplished, or enter into competition for the purchase of the land - the improvements they had made were paid for a second time!

New regulations came into force in 1851 and provided that all land not within Hundreds could be leased for pastoral purposes for a term of 14 years, thus ensuring that a lessee could not be deprived of his run during that period as long as the lease conditions were complied with - these provided for an annual rental from ten shillings to one pound per square mile, payable in advance.

In the 1860s, and the following decade, a persistent cry was abroad about the alleged insidious and ongoing robbing of the "people's land" by squatters, and this agitation was so persistent in town and country, there arose a pressing and overwhelming movement for resumption of pastoral leases and agricultural extension.

There were several factors that led to this indiscriminate quest for arable land. Firstly, in districts such as that extending from Aldinga through McLaren Vale to Willunga the soil had become 'wheat sick' through over-cropping and, accordingly, those farmers whose cash flow had diminished sought greener pastures in the vast virgin lands to the north. Secondly, the government was concerned at the exodus of farmers to the Wimmera district of Victoria and were intent on stopping the outflow of both farmers and capital while, thirdly, the State's coffers could only benefit from revenue generated by the sale of land. Another cause of concern to many farmers was the system of leasing maintained by the South Australian Company and other landlords that contributed to general dissatisfaction; for example:

The company is disliked here for the same reason that absentee and rack-renting landlords are hated by the people of Ireland. The SA Company is an absentee corporation without a body to be kicked or a soul to be damned; it is purely a money-making machine... It has preyed on the vitals of this State and will probably continue to do so until the crack of doom unless it is taxed out of existence by a material increase of the absentee land and income taxes.

The conservative forces had both negative and positive argument against any change in the colonial land system. Indeed, they consoled themselves with the reflection that reform was impracticable, that there could be no free selection without 'dummies' and no conditions of settlement which could not be evaded. Indeed, their creed was that by no law could capital be deprived of, what was defined by colonial gentry and capitalists of the day, its "natural power".

The reformers themselves only asked that a fair trial be given to a certain principle - they did not guarantee it against practical difficulties or abuses, but undertook to grapple with them as they arose. Accordingly, Mr Strangways scheme, introduced into parliament late in 1868, had the constituent elements of free selection, deferred payments, classification and conditions of settlement. All of these had been offered previously to the parliament in isolated forms and refused. Indeed, the classification of the first Ayers scheme, for instance, was encumbered with an impracticable system of tender.

Memorial of the Pastoral Potentates to his Excellency the Governor

The undersigned must humbly show,
These regulations are to go;
The privileges of runs are so
Bemenaced with invasion.

But bold patricians we,
Claim all the land from sea to sea;
And every law should leave us free
Of Hundreds and taxation.

In South Australia's early day
We were her only prop and stay,
Before those miners took the sway,
And vulgar cultivation.

And saucy tillers of the soil
Their fences make our fluids boil,
Oh! tan their land, their drays, their toil,
There's hope in their prostration.

Protect us from these farming men,
Who buy our land and plough for grain,
And cooly challenge our disdain,
Around our very station.

Their cows and working bullocks dare
To browse our pastures rare,
'Twould nake a very parson swear,
Or drive to desperation.

And there's another thing or two
Becomes a Governor to do -
(Don't turn upon your heel and go):
Permit us but to moot them.

When section hunters have the face
To come a-sneaking near our place;
Or beasts of a plebeian race -
Just give us leave to shoot them.

Runs pay a pretty penny fee
To bring fresh labour o?r the sea;
We want to buy no land - not we,
And why should other people.

As for agricultural store
In rich abundance on our shore;
Tasmania her wealth can pour
At charges only triple.

So clever with accounts are you,
And know how much the revenue
Depends upon our interest too -
Rich contributors, very.

Give ear to everything we say,
Then if in all things you obey,
You shall of our fraternity
Be member honorary.

Then all these yelping councillors
That represent commercial curs,
And wild-dog leagueing posturers,
We'll have them circumvented.

And banished to their proper spheres,
There to plot treason midst the care
Which taxes and oppression bears,
Until they have repented.

We will be ruined by this blow,
(Such eminent advisers, too);
Ah! did that British Council know
That we were so respected.

Such wise and excellent J.P.'s,
The very stock for nominees;
Such patriots for new M.P.'s,
And sure to be elected.

Now good Sir Henry, refrain,
Arrest these sections, ours maintain;
Give us a Mesta (vide Spain),
And don't forget pre-emption.

Why, Father Abraham of yore
And shepherd kings the sceptre bore -
These old heroic times restore,
And every exemption.

Perpetual leases - hip, hurrah!
And neither rates nor rent to pay,
Your modest lieges ever pray,
E.C.H.O., of "Fair"S.A.
(Observer, 21 December 1850.)

Arrival of Pastoralists in the South East

Reminiscing in 1926, Mrs Cumming said her father, Harry Jones came out from Shrewsbury, England, in 1842 in the Lightning, with his brother Derwas. Harry held an important post in his father?s privately owned Bank of Shrewsbury, but he tired of such a cut-and-dried business and pined for adventure. Having taken up land in Victoria, her father encounterd new climatic conditions, almost impenetrable forests, menacing Aborigines and primitive living facilities. To two ?gently? nurtured Englishmen such experiences must have been awful and they won through and eventually decided to widen their horizons by exploring the western district of Victoria.

This brought them across the border into South Australia. In Victoria they were absolutely the first white men to hew a clearing in the Kilmore district and founded a station there, successfully breeding stock. Mrs Cumming said that the expedition came out into territory now known as Frances, but in those times Cadnite, on account of its lake.. The present name of Frances was bestowed by the present owner, in honour of his fiancee, Frances Caton, in England. In 1857 Mr Jones returned to his homeland and married her. They at once returned to Australia and landed at Melbourne where Mrs Cumming was born. When she was three months old they journeyed in stages to Binnum and she recalled that both of her parents were very fond of the natives and whenever they were ill they went to her mother for help. Kybybolite Station was founded by her uncle, Heighway Jones.

None but the grassy places were taken up by the first pastoralists, but even they were chosen with caution because there was no running water to be found and most of the swamps showed signs of drying up in one season of the year. Owing to these restrictions the actual amount of settlement was small because the good grassy lands bore a trifling proportion to the actual area of the district. These tracts were to be found on the Mosquito Plains, stretching in a width for ten miles from Penola to Lawson's at Padthaway, that is 64 miles, and along the banks of Reedy and Avenue Creeks for about a mile on each side, while south of Penola it was about five miles wide stretching down as far as the Mount Burr Ranges where the volcanic tract of Mount Gambier opened out.

The 1850s and the Gold Rush

The advent of the gold rush to Victoria culminated in stations' stock being managed without any assistance other than from the Aborigines. Indeed, in some cases flocks were allowed to roam and, owing to the all but total destruction of wild dogs by means of poison, and also the circumstance that the flocks were generally free from disease, the scarcity of labour was not attended with those disastrous consequences that otherwise would have resulted. As for attention to worship on the Sabbath day, by 1853 there was not a single minister of religion in the district and the only means of religious instruction to the settlers was furnished during visits made occasionally by a clergman of the Roman Catholic persuasion.

As for gold seekers "knocked up" on the trek to Victoria the reminiscences of Richard Clode held in the State Library give a vivid account of the hazards encountered on the overland route to Mount Alexander:

After 100 miles I came to the first swamp which I forded in about two hours. Knee deep in mud and slime I then crawled out onto the bank to find not a track in sight. It appeared that the heavy growth after the winter rain had obliterated them. Fortunately, I fell in with a few friendly natives who put me on the right scent. When the sun had set I lit a fire and, having cooked and consumed my damper, I wrapped myself up in my blanket and was soon asleep. Next morning I trudged on, admiring the luxuriant shrubs which grew in profusion around many salt water lakes. They were covered with black swans, geese and ducks. I finally came to a most formidable swamp about four miles across and in places chin deep. The name of the place is Tilley's Flat and it was here that I had the misfortune to lose my dog.

Tiger could have swum the distance but would not go ahead and kept swimming back to me, for I could not keep up with him. It took me six hours to get out of that infernal swamp but, alas, I found myself quite alone. My poor dog had drowned. On and on I went, swamp after swamp. I waded for ten miles meeting occasionally a shepherd or stockman. The natives I encountered were very civil and of great assistance, supplying me with fish they caught in the Coorong. Our conversation was on a limited scale. On the whole I do not think I could have done without them and, with one solitary exception, I was glad to meet them.

One tribe I feel in was very warlike. They understood no English and I did not comprehend their dialect. From what I could gather they were on a war expedition against another tribe. They were painted in red, white, blue and yellow, each male with about four spears, war clubs and boomerangs. I felt much more at ease when I was out of their reach. Travelling on I reached the Glenelg River. I was quite worn out as I had travelled the last 100 miles barefooted. My boots were hard as iron after continual wetting and dring in the sun. I availed myself of a rest at a shepherd's hut and within a few days my raw feet were recovered. I then found it necessary to replenish my pockets to complete my journey and have the means of procuring a licence, tools, etc., at the diggings, so I statrted for the head station where I engaged to work during the shearing season for thirty shillings a week, plus keep..

From goverment statistics it is clear that at this time 470,000 sheep, 34,000 head of cattle and 1,000 horses were running on the stations, while 4,000 bales of wool passed annually through the hands of the Portland Bay merchants in Victoria. Stores, as a matter of convenience, were furnished to the settlers by the same means and, thus, the trade and commerce of Victoria was supported.

However, there were superior natural facilities which, without any expensive improvements, could have accommodated all the traffic to one of the harbours within South Australia, for at the time Guichen Bay was nearer and more accessible to the settlers than Portland Bay, but owing to the want of proper conveniences for shipping goods at the former place, the wool was taken to Portland.

Immense difficulties were experienced until 1853 because sheep were almost valueless and wool brought only a nominal price. Under these circumstances the value of station property did not increase and no new leases were taken out, for it was as much as the early settlers could do to hold their own, but after the excitement of the gold find in Victoria had subsided a change came - wool rose slowly in price and, if labour was dearer, there was a greater demand for meat.

By the close of 1853, due to the shortage of labour manifested by the gold rush to Mount Alexander in Victoria, the majority of the wool production was, of necessity, sent to Guichen Bay and arrangements made by the Portland merchants to receive it on behalf of the pastoralists. A large outlay was not required in order to render that port a convenient shipping place. It was at this time that George Ormerod settled at Guichen Bay where he opened up a large business that added greatly to the development of the South-East. He was a member of a very old Lancashire family and, born at Rochdale in 1822, came out to Victoria in 1842 and was one of the pioneer squatters to settle at Naracoorte in April 1846 on a property known as Narracoorte [sic] Station.

Indeed, at that time many applications were made for the survey of land in this district and, as future purchasers would have been unjustly dealt with, unless the Crown moiety of funds received from land sales were spent on improvements within the district, it would have been most appropriate for the necessary works to be undertaken. From 1853 to 1856 it could not be said that times were good. However, the squatters were able to relieve themselves from their difficulties, for there was not a single one who was not embarrassed to some extent by the trials encountered in past years.

From 1857 to 1860 times were at their best and station property reached an immense price because of the price of wool. At ths time half the South East district was not taken up as runs, for it was thought to be worthless and the bad country was left open for selection in vacant places, sometimes in the midst of a squatter's run. But the great increase of value in squatting property made persons, unused to the business, to lease these vacancies. There were general speculators in Adelaide who rented them from the Crown and then sold them to unexperienced persons who thought they would become squatters directly they obtained the lease.

In this manner the whole of the Long Desert was taken out and stock was put upon places where experience proved that they could never live. The mania for selecting scrubby country for sheep was a great inconvenience to the old settlers. In most cases boundaries were ill defined, or the surveys made improperly, so that the first task of the newcomer was to find out whether, under the terms of his lease, he could occupy some of the grassy land. In some cases claims were made for as much as half of an old run, including, huts, fences, etc.

In consequence of these and other inconveniences the majority of the squatters determined to rent from the Crown all the vacant land around them; not that it was of any use, but in order that they would be free from further incursions from would-be adventurers.. But some of this "bad" land became useful for when it was fenced sheep could be left unshepherded and to "draw into the stringy bark country and fatten up." However, scrub country was utterly useless whether it be fenced or not and even if fed there they would tear off more wool from their backs than the feed was worth.

The 1860s - The Pastoralists are Challenged

By the early 1860s the plough had not disturbed more than a few acres immediately surrounding homesteads, so when it was decided to cut up the land for selection instructions were issued by George W, Goyder, a gentleman of cyclonic energy with a way of imparting to his subordinates a desire to do their best, a team of surveyors mustered in Adelaide, where a four-horse team with a large German waggon was hired and, together with the usual two-wheel government spring cart, all was ready for the surveyors to commence their trek.

In response to this startling pronouncement, in September 1864 a South East squatter expressed his concerns at the audacity of the legislators in far-off Adelaide and, in particular, to a certain gentleman representing the squatters and citizenry of the South East:

One old gentleman I see raises his feeble voice against us, who should be the last to do so. I expected sympathy from him, as he made an attempt to become a squatter in this district, but as his sense is about on par with the wisdom he displays now in a high position, he soon came to grief... I [now] give a brief sketch of my experience...

About 11 years ago I purchased this station - an average one in the district - the former occupant, from losses through scab, wild dogs and perhaps a want of diligence, ... had to sell it; it was the height of the gold digging time. After battling [with my predecessors problems] and want of men for three years I found myself in no better position than at the commencement., frequently having to put all my flocks together and shepherd them myself, camping out with only a few bushes for a breakwind... The only assistance to be had was, now and then, one who was knocked up on his way to the goldfields, and they stayed until able to proceed on their journey... I will jump on to the end of 10 years.

By this time things looked brighter but I had spent all my savings in making improvements on the run; many having borrowed for the same purpose which will take them years to pay and they must be prosperous years to enable them to do it. Now, Sir, what is to be our reward. It is true we may have benefited the country by making our runs carry more stock, but from the political horizon how much wiser it would have been to have acted like my neighbour who makes a slab hut with about £15 suffice. It is true he has not benefited himself or the country by making his run feed more stock, but then he is saved the mortification of not only having his hard earned improvements consficated but, to crown it all, have to pay rent for them.

This makes me almost too ill to proceed or I should like to mention we were in hopes to have commenced a system of draining, so much needed, for our losses from a superabundance of water is equal to the losses in the North from a want of that element...

The shepherds employed by the squatters rose from thei beds just before sunrise, put his quart pot filled with water on the fire for tea-making and, having fried or boiled some mutton, made a good breakfast following which he lit his pipe, called his dog. and went forth to let his flock out of the fold - if he thought proper and, if he had any reason to doubt, he counted them out. The counting was done at least once a week unless they had any suspicion that the hut keeper was engaged in foul play - such as stealing or killing sheep during the night. The shepherd was answerable for his sheep for the whole of the day until deliverd over to the hut keeper at night.

During the day they amused themselves by killing kangaroo rats and bandicoots and when his dog pursued the former he invariably took it to a hollow log, following which the shepherd would take out his tinder box, strike a light and make a fire at one end forcing the animal out of the other where the dog was waiting to snap it up.

Towards evening the flock was turned towards home, while many wandered off by themselves for the same destination. There they were put between hurdles if the weather was fine, but if inclement camped out and watched. Once in the fold they invariably laid down and, unless disturbed by dogs, remained all but inert until sunrise.

It was not until 1865 that the vast freehold estates began to accumulate for, in that year, a considerable portion of the lands for nearly 100 miles northward frrom Port MacDonnell were surveyed and offered for cash sale. They were bought up eagerly by the squatters until 1869 when Strangways Act was passed inaugurating the credit system and limiting the area to be held by one person. But the desire of the pastoralists did not cease for a lot of the land was taken up ostensibly for farming purposes, but many of those who selected the land did so as "dummies" of the large estate owners and, in time, it was added to their existing holdings - this practice is discussed at length at the conclusion of this chapter.

Reserves were made on behalf of Education, University and Forestry and a handsome revenue was obtained therefrom. The Education Department had 50,893 acres of its land rented at almost two shillings per acre, the University had 8,929 acres at two shillings and eightpence and the Forest Board got 5? pence for its 42,391 acres, which were generally in poor, scrubby country or on land too thickly timbered to meet the wants of squatters exactly.

As the district prospered, and small townships grew, a healthy rivalry in stock raising naturally led to arguments that could be settled only by competent judges, Thus, showgrounds began to be formed and the proceedings were enlivened frequently by heated arguments as to the judge's qualifications. Experts were not numerous and one wealthy squatter, who had surmounted many obstacles and accustomed to get his own way by bounce and fisticuffs, was always ready to back up his arguments with a friendly bout, no matter who disagreed with him, but he was always ready to repair damages and many a £5 and £10 note did the part when an argument was thus settled to his satisfaction. Hard-ups and deadbeats purposely got into an argument with him, a couple of black eyes, accompanied later on with a £5 note over each of them, would enable them to purchase the healing remedies at the local hostelry or elsewhere.

Of course, many thousands of acres of land purchased by the squatters under the old system before Strangway's Act came into operation, remained in the hands of a few, and used primarily for pastoral purposes. This state of inertia was destined to persist and only alleviated when owners deigned to cut their estates into smaller blocks and lease them for farming purposes, at such a rate as to tempt would-be farmers to take up this land, as opposed to the alternative of leasing selections from the governmemt, with a view to obtaining the fee simple at a later date. Unfortunately for the prosperity of this part of the colony, the greater part of the land alienated by the Crown was held by capitalists, who exacted a heavy rental from the tenants, the terms of some reaching as high as £1 per acre per annum.

The Exodus of Farmers

As this decade opened Victoria had thrown her lands open to all comers in a most liberal manner and this law excited much interest in the South East and "the discontented, the unfortunate and the men who wanted a bigger slice of Mother earth, than he had or could get in South Australia, cast their eyes eastward and, by February 1870, it was reported that "in the Portland district a great number of Germans, and others from Mount Gambier, are pegging out lots on the Dartmoor run."

Throughout the lower South East district of the 1870s the pastoralists continued to cut up their land into convenient-sized farms that were cultivated for a few years, but the rentals were high and, when the western district of Victoria was opened up, their lessees found they could get freehold land for less than what they were paying in rent. Therefore, many of the farmers departed for the greener pastures in Victoria and omitted to settle up with their landlords and the result was a considerable loss to the landed proprietors, who did not dare sow the land during the currency of the leases, lest the farmers returned and claimed the crops!

By 1871 the government was resuming runs wholesale in the South East but those who knew the district were fully aware of its ?patchy?character and that the proclamation of areas in some localities, while inflicting an injury on the Crown lessees, were ?like offering a stone to a hungry man.? Indeed, much of the resumed land, especially between Robe and Naracoorte and Robe and Penola was of a most worthless description and totally unfit for agricultural purposes.

According to the Editor of the Border Watch, it was estimated that about 100 families left the Mount Gambier district during the first three months of 1872 bound for the Horsham district in Victoria, and this heavy loss of population was caused, generally, by high rents and the unavailability of suitable land available for purchase:

The farms here are as a rule too small and this year we will see only the beginning of a clearing out that will probably go on for some years to come until the holdings of those least favourably situated are absorbed by their more well-to-do neighbours. We may remark here that had our own government been wise and pushed on the drainage works, the present migration would probably have been westward instead of to Victoria [which] will reap the advantage of South Australia?s lack of enterprise and incompetence...

Several large landholders made considerable reductions to their farming tenants and the land that was thrown upon their hands, because of the exodus to Horsham, was offered at rates that would have been jumped upon gladly some years before. Mr W. J. Browne of Moorak went on a different tack and instructed his manager to release all tenants, who were willing to give up their land, and resume possession of same for pastoral purposes:

We believe the last two years experience at Moorak has gone to prove that more can be made out of the land laid down in English grasses with sheep than out of even the high rents at which some of the estates are let... We are evidently on the eve of a great revolution in our farming system at Mount Gambier and it is thus quite possible, what with the wise concessions of landholders, our splendid pastures and our long-woolled sheep, we shall get over the exodus, if not without absolute loss, at least easier than other districts.

By 1873 a general exodus of farmers was under way and one settler, located on inferior land, said that he was paying £87 per annum for 170 acres with a covenant in the lease not to grub any blackwood trees and, as it was impossible to make ends meet, he was compelled to surrender his lease. The intention of the lessor was evident. He was a squatter and saw the land would not stand the rent and that, after being cleared and better prepared for sheep, the farmer would have to turn it back on his hands, in which case he would require the shade of the blackwoods for his sheep to shelter under.

Had the Land Act, prevailing at this time been in operation a decade or more earlier the agricultural aspect of the district would have been considerably brighter, but heavy rentals weighed down the the spirit of the country and drove away the bone and sinew in the form of farmers.A dismal outlook prevailed over the length and breadth of the land:

There was the homestead windowless and doorless, the garden in a worse condition than that of the sluggards immortalised in verse by Dr Watts, the fences dilapidated and, instead of the jocund laugh and merry voices of jubilant childhood, the discordant notes of the laughing jackass were alone heard; whilst hundreds of trees killed by girdling or fire, stood like gaunt sentinels guarding the scene of desolation. For instance, at Yahl Paddock, a Bible Christian Chapel boasted of 30 members but due to the exodus it had dwindled down to two, the remainder having left the neighbourhood.

They were principally leaseholders, or held their land on right of purchase, and preferred to forfeit their deposits they had made than to remain at a ruinous rent or paying an exorbitantly high price for the fee simple at the end of the term. It was not difficult to wonder at some unfortunate lessees being desirous of putting the River Glenelg between themselves and their landlords. Of course, there were patches of land unequalled in the colony for fertility and the farmer who secured two or three hundred acres of such soil was ensured to "realise a competency."

The depopulating process had all but ceased by early 1875 and from Naracoorte to Penola, a distance of over 30 miles, there was barely an acre of cultivated land to be seen, except around squatter's homesteads, where hay was grown for home use. The country was all in the hands of large proprietors - Magarey, Robertson, MacDonald, MacArthur and Riddoch, etc. They owned nearly all of it and good country it was, full of grass, well watered and timbered and just as good, or better, than the first day the white man put a foot upon it. :

There were not more than half a dozen setlers at Attamurra and only one family left at Yahl Paddock south of the Post Office, while the chapel there had been dismantled.

Towards the 20th Century

During the 1880s no person with the slightest power of observation could visit the South East without being struck by the strong Victorian flavour there was is in everthing in the border towns. Victorian papers circulated widely, Melbourne travellers were ever on the alert to outbid their Adelaide rivals for the favour of local storekeepers, while the squatters had an eye to each colony, though they appeared to prefer a moderate degree of fixity of tenure here to the possible bursting up of their estates in Victoria. Many of the farmers were so liberal that they were not above selecting as much land as they could obtain by credit in the two colonies.

The government had neglected the South East and a wide spread impression seemed to prevail that, with the Ninety Mile Desert on the north side and the Dismal Swamp on the south, all the good land had been purchased by the squatters and, accordingly, passed for ever out of the hands of the agriculturists. In later years, however, a complete change occurred because two railways were been laid down and a third, from Naracoorte to the Tatiara district was authorised which, coupled with a comprehensive drainage programme of the wet lands, appeased the settlers in the short term. As for the two aforementioned physical features it was said:

Whether or not [Dismal Swamp] will ever be drained, I do not know, but surely if it is there will be a large block of splendid garden ground opened up with a depth of black, peaty soil running from a foot to six feet in depth. The healthy country adjoining is capable of producing very good pasturage when cleared of the grass trees and other vegetation...

But although decided changes took place, a great deal of ignorance prevailed in Adelaide and throughout the colony as to the condition and prospects of the South East. Indeed, even within the district itself diverse opinions existed as to the quality of the soil, its fitness for agriculture and the length of time it would last before being completely worked out. In the Hundred of Joyce wheat grown there had averaged about 13 bushels an acre, its quality was good and it overcame the prejudice existing against South Eastern wheat and the highest market price was given for it.

By 1890, parts of the country that years ago had carried and maintained in good condition 250 sheep to the square mile, would not keep half that number and this was due to the invasion of rabbits and overstocking. The most nutritious of the native grasses had all but disappeared and one in particular, the kangaroo grass, was seldom seen except in the shelter of a fallen sheaoak or other tree. To bring the grasses back to their original luxuriant state a substantial loss was incurred because paddocks had to be left unstocked while the grass was stooling out and during its seeding. Indeed, the adaptibility of the country had been proven and were it not for mismanagement many an acre would have been bearing grass luxuriantly in season.

What amazed a stranger in traversing the South East were the enormous tracts of country given up to the Scotch thistle or some kindred weed to which this name was assigned. Thousands of pounds were spent on its eradication but, by 1893, the landholder was wiser for learning that stock ate greedily the dried flower head when there was litle else for them to consume. Accordingly, they no longer banned the thistle, but blessed it and do their best to propagate it.

The Squatters and Compulsory Acquisition of Their Land

At the turn of the 20th century the government, in its wisdom, started to acquire compulsorily the extensive estates of the squatters and Naracoorte furnished a patent instance of the benefits accruing from the cutting up of estates for closer settlement. Before the Naracoorte Station was subdivided the place was in exactly the same position as it had occupied for years past, but signs of animation became visible at the time.When the estate was purchased from Mr Thomas Magarey the announcement of the sale gave unbounded satisfaction to the residents of the district and the townspeople saw in it an expansion of the town for which they had pined for many decades.

The estate was peculiarly situated as it not ony surrounded Naracoorte in every direction but it was scattered in small paddocks and had the monopoly of the best suburban sites. The land was allotted under the covenant to purchase system which offered the land outright for payment in 60 half-yearly instalments or as an alternative, outright purchase at the expiration of six years.

By 1903 most of the land had been allotted and devoted to grazing and there was a large speculation in cattle and sheep with profitable results in most cases. Other land was sown to wheat, oats and peas. The subdivision introduced a percentage of new blood to the district and consequently new methods of farming, The estate was divided into 105 blocks varying from about 5 acres to 1,250 acres the highest block selling for £6.19.1 an acre.

Dummying Land in the South East

Chronicle

In the early days of the colony, when men were rovers, and when so many made bad speculations, there was such a field for rich men buying any amount of land in a legitimate manner, that there was no excuse for them engaging in ?dummyism.? If this vicious system simply meant personal aggrandisement it would not have been so objectionable; but it did more, for it retarded the opening up of the country and depleted the revenue and therefore should have been hounded out of existence.

The parliament that passed the Act of 1868 honestly intended to reserve the agricultural areas for the genuine cultivator. However, the framers were probably innocent of all ill intentions, but in relaxing the rule as to continuous and personal occupancy by the purchaser, while his credit term lasted, they opened the door to great abuses. As was pointed out by the Hon. Neville Blyth, ?if nine months in a year was to be construed as permanent residence, why not five or one...? The evil arising from this concession was, in actual fact, more flagrant than Mr Blyth foretold because it misled purchasers into breaches of the law, encouraged dummyism and demoralised the Crown Lands Department.

The colonists had got so accustomed to the open practice of disposing of land through the auction mart, to whoever has a mind to buy it, that they had not acquired the proper degree of abhorrence for the man who could deliberately mediate the infraction of an Act of Parliament purposely framed to prevent his becoming the purchaser. Dummyism struck at the root of the existing system of the distribution of land and it was highly regrettable that those, who by their position ought to have been the last to despise good order and the security of property, were the first to break the law.

The Commissioner of Crown Lands knew it existed but the difficulty was to deal with in such a manner without injuring the district or inflicting hardship against a bona fide selector:

It is a patent fact that thousands of acres have been taken up in the South East, not by men of limited means united with strong muscles, farming experience and a desire to acquire a freehold of their own, but by the squatters in the South East and even Victoria.

They found not a mere loophole through which they crept into the ownership of fertile sections on credit terms, but a wide door inviting all comers to enter. There were even reports that members of parliament, unable to resist the enticing bait, went in heavily without any intention to reside on their holdings (as stipulated in the new Act) unless as a mere matter of form. Public rumour also asserted that these practices had been connived at in high quarters - of course not designedly, but in all simplicity.

In July 1871 Mr Bonney, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, visited the South East for it was known that a number of persons, who had taken up land there under the provisions of Strangways Act, had not complied with the conditions of residence. An attempt had been made in 1870 to bring these persons to account for their noncompliance, but it was found, however, that nothing could be done until 15 months had elapsed from the time the land was taken up. Further, it was conceded that the Bill was so loosely drawn, or so blunderingly altered in its passage through parliament, that a fine loophole was left for speculators and others.

Following his visit the following list was published in the Adelaide press showing the purchasers who were required to show good cause why their selections should not be forfeited because of noncompliance with the Act - Donald Hall, Morambro; Mary Ross, Naracoorte; Thomas Guthrie, Avon Plains; John Guthrie, Lochaber; Isabella McKenzie, Morambro; Agnes Guthrie, Lochaber; Elizabeth Williamshurst, Morambro; Agnes Ryland, Mortimer Ryland and Annie Eliza Ryland, all of Mosquito Creek; Alex McBain, Messemurray; William Robertson, Moy Hall; James Robertson, Naracoorte; W.J. Magarey, Adelaide; John Robertson, Moy Hall; Peter and Lachlan Robertson, Naracoorte.

In May 1874 the farmers in the Naracoorte district held a meeting at which they expressed concern at the blatant deception being practised by some pastoralists and their evidence, as to the alleged illegality, was brought to the attention of the Editor of the Border Watch:

I hear that the farmers? meeting has resulted in making quite a stir in some of the dummy buildings. One farmer told me that a dummy hut, till quite lately uninhabited, is now made cheerful at night with the sound of concertina, bones, etc., and that from the chimneys of several huts, that have been since their erection almost innocent of smoking, the reek is to be seen every other day or two, making those till now desolate houses appear quite lively.

Further, two extensive fields of dummyism occurred in the Hundreds of Bowaka and Monbulla. In the last named, Messrs Hutchinson and Dunn formerly held the whole of the property and, by 1880, retained a good deal of it with the aid of former employees and their "sisters, cousins, and aunts". In the latter, concerning which the local residents memoralised the Commissioner of Crown Lands, an enquiry was held at once.

Another transgressor in the 1880s was Mr John Riddoch, the owner of the princely estates of Yallum and Glencoe, who provided cash to place others on the land with a view to his own future advantage - in this respect the circumstances of one case will suffice to show his chicanery and this was brought into the public arena by a citizen of the South East under the pseudonym of ?Traveller? in December 1881:

The dummy, an ordinary station hand, but a true and honest drudge to his master, having served over 15 years in his employ, is one day ordered to take up his abode on a portion of land pointed out to him. That the object was to make a dummy of the man is obvious since the land was taken up in his name and all expenses of house-building, cropping and improving settled by the squatter?s cheque direct, and that the man knew he was performing dummy duty is also apparent.

However, the term of occupation drawing to a close the squatter orders him to sign a deed of acceptance for an amount that will not merely transfer the whole affair to himself, but will leave the man further indebted beyond his due and, upon demurring, a summons to the Supreme Court is served upon him. The man, a penniless unfortunate with a large family, being totally unable to procure funds necessary for the trip to town, cannot appear or have the case defended, a warrant of arrest (on application by the squatter) is sent up the country and he is thrown into the local gaol, there to await the lordly pleasure of the proprietor. To the knowledge of all resident here this man has been languishing in prison for already seven months and no enquiry into the matter has been held.

The family had to trust for support to the charity of those who were cognisant of the crying injustice done them, until lately an application for government rations being sent in, these were supplied them. It is an advantage to know that dummyism has received rather a shock in the proceedings of the last assizes here; but I ask you, Sir, should not this report be enquired in to and this man, said now to be in gaol without a likelihood of being heard unless with the consent of the above mentioned landlord magnate, allowed at least a chance of clearing himself.

The Editor of the Register was incensed by the content of the letter and in an editorial said, inter alia:

Mr Riddoch asked Mason to sign an acceptance for £555.13s.11d, apparently the sum spent on improvements, though Mason had never asked either that the work might be done or for the money to pay for it and was working for Mr Riddoch when the latter asked him to sign. Upon refusing to sign the acceptance Mr Riddoch stopped his rations and instituted proceedings against him in the Supreme Court...

Although the case appears to have been very loosely conducted, the evidence seems to point to the most barefaced dummyism... It is very clear that some one has been guilty of perjury and the case should not be allowed to stop where it is.... In whatever light, however, the transaction as to the land may be regarded, the conduct of Mr Riddoch must strike everyone as being extremely harsh and cruel.

When it is remembered that Mason?s case is only one of several with which Mr Riddoch?s name is mixed up, the necessity for explanation is all the greater for if Mason has not been guilty of perjury, Mr Riddoch, as an ex-legislator, owes to the public, if not to himself, to leave no stone unturned to exculpate himself.

Following explanations being received from Mr Riddoch the Editor responded:

In some respects the accusation brought against Mr Riddoch by our correspondent of having treated Mason with great harshness is sustained by further evidence... But in other respects a false impression has been created and we hasten to remove it. It is nothing but the simplest act of justice to the owner of Yallum Park that he has often shown himself generous to a fault. His action in incarcerating Mason, in allowing him to remain in prison for six or seven months, and in turning a deaf ear to his appeals for release, is therefore little in accord with his usual mode of action...

In another underhand transaction, one well known resident of the South-East selected a few thousand acres by the aid of his female relatives and cultivated it up to the requirements of the law, although doubtless he intended ultimately to use it for pastoral purposes described a dummy and declared that:

A dummy is not one who cultivates the land , as I shall do, and who complies with all the conditions of the Act though he may sell the land afterwards to another person... What I call a dummy is a bloody rascal such as slipped me up on Yorke's Peninsula. I put him on the land and he and he took it for his own and he thus swindled me out of several hundred pounds which I had paid for it.

There is no doubt that this was a case of the "biter bit" and it appeared to be a just conclusion that he suffered for attempting to break the law. It was not by any means a rare occurrence for the tables to be turned thus on the man who dummied and, though one cannot from a moral standpoint approve of the accomplice who "jumps" the land to which he has no moral claim, it must have been some satisfaction to know that, when a rich man sought to enlarge his estate in a manner contrary to the law of the land, he was punished for doing so.

It was no secret that the provisions of the Act were shamefully disregarded in the South East. Some who took out land in their own names coolly set the condition of personal residence at defiance; and others with perhaps a little more worldly wisdom and less principle, got their servants to take up the sections in their names, fenced in the land, put up small cottages, some of which could be easily removed, and quietly waited until the time elapsed before the selections could be turned over to them.

At about the same time another instance of ?dummying? was reported in the Adelaide press:

We stopped on our way at Tarpeena where Mr Coles conducted... the examination of a squatter whom the evidence seems to prove to have been guilty of assisting in dummying. When the party called at the public house Mr Coles called into the private room Mr Kennedy, owner of Peeweena Station, and charged him straightforwardly with having engaged a man named J.W. Green to dummy sections 312 and 313, Hundred of Mingbool... Then the interview closed and Green's land will be duly forfeited.

Others to be served for notices of forfeiture were William Smith, Alan and J.S. Robertson (as acting for the late Mr Robertson of Struan House) and Patrick Bland and D. Barrett (for Gideon Smith, a late squatter in the district).

In April 1882 the Commissioner of Crown Lands gave notice of forfeiture under the Crown Lands Consolidation Act of 1877 to 19 selectors in the South East. This notice was to the effect that it had been shown to him that they had been guilty of a fraud under that Act in purchasing their selections as agents for other persons and that he would, therefore, proceed to revoke their agreements and resume the lands unless they furnished evidence to him that they were innocent of this fraud. The selectors at once instituted actions against the Commissioner to obtain an injunction from the Supreme Court against this forfeiture.

Rankine versus Catt was taken as a test case and, in August 1882, an injunction was obtained restraining the Commissioner from forfeiting under the notice. The arguments on both sides were very elaborate and excessively technical, but the main fact shown was that the Crown Lands Acts were in a state of helpless confusion.

As illustrating the utter confusion of these Statutes, the Court, when asked by the Crown Solicitor, refused to express an opinion as to whether any procedure remained by which such forfeitures could be maintained, and it was clear that there was very little hope of success on the part of the Commissioner. In consequence of this decision all the actions were abandoned with heavy costs against the government.

With such great interests at stake it was evident that the Commissioner would not hesitate to put forward every exertion to secure a more satisfactory result. Firstly, to meet one flaw in the previous Acts, clause 17 in the Act of 1882 was passed declaring that the violation or evasion of the provisions of the earlier Acts was a ?fraud? under those Acts. They then published another notice of forfeiture, as carefully worded as if it were an indictment, and again the 19 selectors took up the cudgels and instituted fresh actions against the Commissioner.

Robertson versus Catt was selected as the test case because a fresh element of difficulty had been introduced in the shape of a mortgage to the Commercial Bank. The Bank having been made a third party to the action, filed a defence; the Commissioner next brought the matter to an issue by demurring to the whole of the claim. Again there was a tedious and protracted argument as to what was the true construction of the Crown Lands Acts and, again, the arguments showed in what a hopeless state of muddle these Acts were, and how difficult it was to understand the position of things under them.

To all this the Editor of the Register proclaimed:

There will be more fighting since the parties have money at their command and heavy interests at stake... These expensive actions... show the utter folly of piecemeal legislation and the absurdity of trying to patch up an unworkable Act... The truth is our land legislation needs to be so completely revised as to render dummyism, which is an artificial crime, simply impossible. That this could be done, and with advantage to all parties, we do not doubt.

General Notes

Reminiscences by John J. Bonnar of life on a pastoral station on the Waterloo Plains in the 1840s are in the Register,
1 and 2 August 1905, pages 4h-6c and 4g.

A history of "The Pastoral Interest" is in the Register,
21 June 1887, page 5e (supp.),
"The Pastoral Interest" on
21 December 1888, pages 4h-6e.

"Stocking Runs in the Forties" is in the Register,
2 January 1895, page 3g.

Photographs of pioneer pastoralists in the north of SA are in the The Critic,
10 February 1904, page 5,
Chronicle,
18 November 1916, page 27.

"What is a Squatter?" is in the Advertiser,
11 June 1917, page 6e.

"The Plains Beyond Adelaide - Old Time Reminiscences" is in the Advertiser,
27 June 1906, page 8h.

The stocking of pastoral runs in the 1840s is discussed in the Register,
2 January 1895, page 3g.
"Pastoral Settlement - Historical Progress" is in the Register,
1 and 4 November1924, pages 13d and 13c,
Observer,
8 November 1924, page 8c.

"Bush Experiences in the Forties", by J.J. Bonnar, is in the Observer,
5 August 1905, page 40e.

Information on the shepherding of sheep is in the Observer,
12 April 1845, page 5a,
"Life in the Bush - The Shepherd" is in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
17 February 1849, page 4a,
"Shepherding in the Early Days" in the Chronicle,
12 July 1934, page 8,
sketches are in the Illustrated Adelaide Post,
24 March 1870, page 13,
Pictorial Australian in
January 1884, page 200,
September 1886, page 140,
"Bushmen in Town" in the Express,
28 July 1868, page 2a.

"Unlicensed Squatting" is in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal, 30 August 1849, page 2e:

There are hundreds of unlicensed squatters on the Crown lands within ten miles of Adelaide, who have huts, productive gardens, and milch cows, to the great loss of the honest occupiers of the purchased land in their neighbourhood.

"The Squatocracy of SA" is in the Observer,
21 December 1850, page 4d (supp.),
"Duration and Conditions of the Squatters' Leases" on
4 January 1851, page 2a (supp.).

New regulations respecting Crown lands and squatting licenses are discussed in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
9 November 1850, page 3a,
28 December 1850, page 3b,
2 January 1851, page 2e.

"The Squatters and the Carrying Trade" is in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
15 March 1851, page 3a,
"The Lieutenant-Governor and the Squatocracy" on
13 November 1851, page 2d.

"The Squatocracy of South Australia" is in the Register,
17, 24, 28 and 31 December 1850, pages 3a, 2d, 2d and 2d,
"The Squatting, Mining and Agricultural Interests" on
9 January 1851, page 2d.

A description of pastoral leases and country between Mount Arden and Lake Torrens is in the Observer,
1 May 1852, page 6d.

"Cattle Branding" is in the Observer,
23 February 1856, page 6e,
19 April 1856, page 6d,
7 and 14 June 1856, pages 5g and 6e,
"Unclaimed Cattle" on
2 August 1856, page 1d (supp.).

"Early Pastoral History" is in the Observer,
29 May 1926, page 9c.

"The Flocks of the Colony" is in the Observer,
28 March 1857, page 6d,
"The Pastoral Interest" on
2 and 9 May 1857, pages 2g-6d and 7a-b.

"Squatters and Their Runs" is in the Register,
5 September 1857, page 3d; also see
Observer,
12 September 1857, page 1c (supp.).

"Squatting and Its Results" is in the Observer,
29 May 1858, page 8e.

"Squatocracy and Democracy" is in the Register,
23 June 1858, pages 2c-3c.
"The Squatting Evidence" on
12, 13 15 and 18 November 1858, pages 3g, 2f, 2b and 2g,
7 and 10 December 1858, pages 2d and 2b.

"The Government and the Squatters" is in the Observer,
25 December 1858, page 4b,
"Occupation Licences" on
14 September 1861, page 6d.

"The Assessment on Stock" is in the Observer,
2 October 1858, page 1b (supp.),
13, 20 and 27 November 1858, pages 5a-6a-7a and 6b-7g-1b (supp.)-2a (supp.) and 5f,
3 September 1859, page 6f,
5 and 26 November 1859, pages 5f and 1b (supp.),
30 June 1860, page 6b,
29 September 1860, page 5c,
10 November 1860, page 5e,
13, 20 and 27 July 1861, pages 1f (supp.), 1b (supp.) and 5c-1e (supp.).

"Rights of Stockowners" is in the Observer,
16 October 1858, page 4g,
"New Pastoral Land Bill" on
14 July 1860, pages 3e-4f,
"The Squatters' Petition" on
8 December 1860, page 6h.

A poisonous plant is discussed in the Register,
3, 6, 12, 20 and 21 December 1860, pages 3f, 2h, 3b, 3c and 3a,
10 January 1861, page 3c,
4 April 1861, page 2e,
Chronicle,
6 and 13 April 1861, pages 3f and 1e (supp.):

5,000 wethers started from the head station, and the next day 100 of them dropped down dead in the afternoon from some cause then unknown. I had some of them opened and in the first stomach found pieces of the weed known now as poisonous. Since that time lots of four and five sheep have died during the day in flocks on different parts of the [Pekina] run; but wherever this occurred the poisonous weed was visible, and no deaths that I aware of have taken place where the plant does not exist... On my return to Adelaide last Friday I perceived a letter from Dr Mueller, of Melbourne, recommending the plant be given to sheep in various parts of Australia, and, having a sample with me which, however, was getting rather dry, I gave some, in order to satisfy my own curiosity, on Saturday, to a fat wether... In 26 minutes the wether began to stagger and in another few minutes he fell, groaning and breathing hard, with spasmodic movement of the limbs...

Also see Register,
30 December 1861, page 3b,
17 May 1862, page 2f,
Chronicle,
28 October 1865, pages 5d-1g (supp.),
Observer,
13 May 1871, page 10g,
Register,
29 May 1871, page 6f,
5 December 1884, page 5b,
Observer,
8 August 1885, page 9e;
"The Cattle Poisoning Plant" is in the Chronicle,
5 April 1873, page 5c and
"A Noxious Plant" on
13 December 1884, page 13d; also see
Register,
25 February 1887, page 5c,
9 March 1887, page 7h.

A series of articles on "Sketches of Life on Sheep Stations in SA" commences in the Farm & Garden
on 15 January 1863, page 99.

"Squatters and Missionaries" is in the Register,
31 July 1863, page 2f,
11 January 1864, page 2f.

"Ourselves [Newspaper Editors] and Squatters" is in the Register,
5 September 1864, page 2f.

"District Councils and Squatters" is in the Express,
11 July 1864, page 3a,
"Rents for Runs" on
22 December 1864, page 2b.

"The Pastoral Leases" is in the Observer,
20 and 27 August 1864, pages 5e and 1b-c (supp.),
3 September 1864, page 5g,
"Ourselves and the Squatters" on
3 September 1864, page 5f,
"Revaluation of Runs" on
10 September 1864, page 6a.

"Ourselves and the Squatters" is in the Observer,
3 September 1864, pages 5f-1b (supp.),
"Squatting in the South-East" on
3 September 1864, page 1a (supp.),
29 October 1864, page 5d.

"Squatters' Grievances" is in the Register,
22 November 1864, page 3c,
6 December 1864, page 3a,
"The Squatters and the Public" in the Chronicle,
19 November 1864, page 4a; also see
Express,
12 December 1864, page 2b.

"Political Wriggling" is in the Chronicle,
10 December 1864, page 1c (supp.).

"The Register and Goyder's Valuations" is in the Chronicle,
24 December 1864, page 4a,
"Valuation of Runs" in the Observer,
28 January 1865, page 6a,
"Mr Morris [Inspector of Sheep] and the Squatters" on
28 January 1865, page 6c,
4 February 1865, page 6a,
Register,
25 and 30 January 1865, pages 2d and 2c.
Also see South Australia - Northern Lands Development and Allied Matters - Comment on Goyder's Line

"Bushmen's Rations" is in the Chronicle,
25 March 1865, page 3e,
"A Tax on Shepherds' Dogs" in the Register,
5 June 1865, page 2h.
Also see Bordertown.

"The Pastoral Association and the Press" is in the Chronicle,
8 and 15 April 1865, pages 4b and 5g; also see
Express,
17 May 1865, page 2b.

"Drought in the North - Meeting of Squatters" is in the Observer,
17 June 1865, page 3c,
Chronicle,
11 November 1865, page 1d (supp.),
16 December 1865, page 2c.
Also see South Australia - Natural Disasters - Droughts

"Pastoral Progress" is in the Observer,
2 and 23 September 1865, pages 7c and 2g (supp.).

"The Wants and Claims of Bushmen" is in the Register,
16 September 1865, page 2f.

"The Government and the Annual Leaseholders" is in the Observer,
16 September 1865, page 6a,
"The Northern Runs" on
18 November 1865, page 6a,
"The Northern Squatters" in the Chronicle,
6, 20 and 27 May 1865, pages 1c (supp.), 2a (supp.) and 4c,
18 November 1865, page 5f.

"Distress in the North" is in the Register,
23 September 1865, page 3c,
"Pastoral Progress" on
25 September 1865, page 2g,
"The Northern Runs" on
15 and 24 November 1865, pages 2c and 2b.

"Poor Squatters and Rich Ones" is in the Express,
20 December 1865, page 3a.

"Sheep Runs North and West of Port Augusta" is in the Register,
11 January 1866, page 3g.

"The Squatting Difficulty" is discussed in the Advertiser,
27 January 1866, page 2c,
3, 14 and 19 February 1866, pages 2c, 2c and 3c,
6 March 1866, page 3a,
Advertiser,
27 January 1866, page 2c,
6 and 27 February 1866, pages 2g and 2f,
3 and 7 March 1866, pages 3g and 2e-3a,
11 and 15 June 1866, pages 2e and 2e,
6 December 1866, page 2c.

"Exodus of Squatters" is in the Register,
2 February 1866, page 2d,
"Popular Mistakes About Squatters" on
19 February 1866, page 3c,
6 March 1866, page 3a,
Observer,
3 March 1866, page 7e.

"Soliloquy of a Squatter" is in the Register,
12 February 1866, page 3h.
"The Squatters and the Government" on
14 June 1866, page 2d; also see
Express,
14 June 1866, page 2d.

"Valuation of Runs" is in the Observer,
2 and 16 June 1866, pages 5d and 3b,
"The Squatters and the Government" on
16 June 1866, page 6b,
Chronicle,
16 June 1866, pages 2d-6a-1a (supp.)-3f(supp.).

"The Squatters of 1866 - An Interesting List" is in the Register,
22 May 1926, page 8h,
Observer,
29 May 1926, page 9c.

"The Northern Runs" is in the Observer,
8 December 1866, page 6c,
6 July 1867, page 6c.

"The Northern Runs Commission" and ancillary matters are discussed in the Chronicle,
6 and 13 July 1867, pages 4b and 4a,
Advertiser,
2, 8, 15 and 23 July 1867, pages 2c-3f, 2b, 3c and 2b,
8 and 27 August 1867, pages 2c and 2c,
28 October 1867, page 2c.

"Distraining Squatters" is in the Register on
8 February 1868, page 2f,
Observer,
22 February 1868, page 12a.

"The Valuation of Runs" is in the Register,
7 August 1869, page 2d,
"The Squatters and the Orders in Council" on
4 October 1869, page 3d,
"The Squatters and the London Wool-Brokers" on
19 October 1869, page 2c.

"Disabilities of Pastoralists - Blowflies, Rabbits, Foxes and Caterpillars" is in the Advertiser,
10 May 1933, page 7c.

"The Sheep Runs of South Australia" is in the Advertiser,
15 July 1861, page 2g and
24 July 1861, page 2d.

"Shepherds at Outstations" is in the Register,
20 June 1861, page 2g.

The construction of shepherds' huts is discussed in the Advertiser,
18 January 1864, page 3d and
"The Public and the Squatters" on
6, 10 and 13 August 1864, pages 2f, 2d and 2f.

"Squatters, Farmers and Commonage Rights" is in the Advertiser,
24 March 1865, page 2e,
"The Press and Squatters" on
18 May 1865, page 2d,
"The Squatting Question" on
2 December 1865, page 2f,
"Poor Squatters and Rich Ones" on
21 December 1865, page 2d,
"The Squatting Decision" on
23 December 1865, page 2e.

"The Squatters of 1866 - An Interesting List" is in the Register,
22 May 1926, page 8h.

"A Meeting of Pastoral Lessees" is reported in the Register on
29 June 1867, page 3f,
"The Northern Runs" on
1 July 1867, page 2d.

"Distraining Squatters" is in the Observer, 8 February 1868, page 2g.

Sketches of a bushman's hut are in the Illustrated Adelaide Post,
24 March 1870, page 13.

"Sheep Stations" is in the Observer, 24 October 1868, page 9a:

The palmy days when mutton and wool alike fetched a high figure, and when to become a squatter was regarded as an unfailing road to fortune, have gone by. Station property... has become a drug on the market.

"Renewal of Pastoral Leases" is in the Register,
20 May 1869, page 2e,
"Valuation of Runs" in the Observer,
14 August 1869, page 13a,
"The Squatters and the Orders in Council" on
9 October 1869, page 13c.

"The Squatters and the London Wool-Brokers" is in the Register,
19 October 1869, page 2c.

"The Pastoral Bill" is in the Observer,
5 February 1870, page 2g,
"Compensation for Improvements on Runs" on
1 April 1871, page 13a,
"Improvements on Runs" on
10 June 1871, page 13a.

"Squatters, Farmers and Thistles" is in the Express,
22 May 1871, page 2c.

"The Fencing of Runs" is in the Observer,
6 and 27 May 1871, pages 3g and 9e; also see
22 February 1873, page 13f.

"The Resumption of Pastoral Lands" is in the Observer,
16 January 1875, page 3c.

"The Brands Bill" is in the Express,
27 July 1875, page 3b.

"The Blackmail Scandal" is in the Observer,
26 February 1876, pages 2f-13b,
4 and 25 March 1876, pages 13d and 7f,
6 May 1876, page 13a,
22 July 1876, page 13e.

"Agriculturalists Versus Squatters" is in The Lantern,
12 August 1876, page 7b.

"On the Future of Australian Pastoral Country" is in the Observer,
3 March 1877, page 9d.

Pastoral runs north-west of Port Augusta are described in the Observer,
10 March 1877, page 12c; also see
Chronicle,
19 and 26 May 1932, pages 9 and 9,
9 June 1932, page 9.

"Serious Floods in the North" is in the Observer,
24 and 31 March 1877, pages 3g and 10.
Also see South Australia - Natural Disasters - Floods

A poem entitled "A Caution to Squatters" is in The Lantern,
16 November 1878, page 10.

"Shepherded Pastoral Lands" is in the Observer,
12 October 1878, page 3b,
"Pastoral Legislation" on
12 October 1878, page 3a,
23 November 1878, page 9c,
"The Pastoral Interest" on
3 April 1880, page 554a,
Register,
3 April 1880, page 4d.

"The Pastoral Interest of South Australia" is in the Observer,
5 March 1881, page 393e.

The Register of 6 August 1881 at page 7a has a lengthy poem entitled "The Lament of a South Australian Squatter" - one stanza reads:

"The Pastoral Leases Bill" is in the Register,
21 and 27 October 1881, pages 4d and 4d,
3 November 1881, page 4d;
Observer,
29 October 1881, page 24b,
30 September 1882, page 24c,
7 and 21 July 1883, pages 24c and 11c-24d,
27 October 1883, page 27c,
23 August 1884, page 24c.

North-East pastoral stations are commented upon in the Chronicle,
15 October 1881, page 11g.

"Pastoral Enterprise in Central Australia" is in the Observer,
10 February 1883, page 31c.

"Encouragement to Pastoralists" is in the Observer,
24 March 1883, page 35.

Some reminiscences upon West Coast pastoralists are in the Observer,
7 June 1884, page 42e.

"Pastoral Tenure and Settlement" is in the Register,
6 June 1884, page 6e,
6 July 1884, pages 7a-b,
Observer,
7 June 1884, page 31a,
"The Pastoral Leases Bill" in the Register,
20 and 22 August 1884, pages 4e and 4d,
8 October 1884, page 5a.
"The Pastoral Lands Bill" is in the Chronicle,
27 September 1884, page 5a.
"The Pastoral Leases Act" is in the Register,
19 and 20 August 1885, pages 4f and 4h.

Runs in the Beltana district are described in the Observer,
3 January 1885, page 9a.

"The Pastoral Board" is in the Register,
9 April 1885, page 4h,
7 May 1885, page 4d.
"The Pastoral Board and Its Work" is in the Observer,
14 November 1885, page 9a,
"The Pastoral Board and the '88 Leases" on
9 April 1892, page 9b.

A photograph of "West Coast Pastoralists in 1888" is in the Chronicle,
4 August 1906, page 29,
of pastoralists on
21 September 1912, page 33.

"The 1888 Pastoral Leases" is in the Advertiser,
3 September 1886, page 7e,
22 April 1887, page 7e,
19 July 1887, pages 4d-6b,
3 September 1887, page 7e,
30 November 1887, page 5g,
1, 5 and 8 December 1887, pages 6d, 7e and 3e,
28 June 1888, page 6a,
3 July 1888, pages 4d-6c,
21 December 1888, page 6a,
26 July 1895, page 4g.

"Squatters and 1888 Leases" is in the Observer,
26 March 1887, page 11a,
"Pastoral Properties" on
7 May 1887, page 34a.
Sketches of the sale of 1888 leases are in the Pictorial Australian in
June 1888, page 104.

The reminiscences of Samuel J. Stuckey are in the Observer,
9 July 1887, page 18a,
Advertiser,
21 January 1907, page 7c.

"An Interview With a Pastoralist" is in the Chronicle,
23 July 1887, page 5g.

"The New Pastoral Leases - The Opening Sales" is in the Register,
28 and 29 June 1888, pages 6d and 4h-7e,
Observer,
30 June 1888, pages 29d-30; also see
3 November 1888, pages 38-39,
22 December 1888, pages 16e-22c.

Editorials on pastoral leases are in the Chronicle,
22 December 1888, page 22e,
Advertiser,
1 and 4 July 1890, pages 4c and 4e; also see
Observer,
5 July 1890, pages 9d-10c.
Pastoral legislation is discussed in the Advertiser,
21 October 1890, page 7c and
19 August 1892, page 4d.

A series of weekly articles titled "Our Pastoral Industry" is in the Observer,
30 January 1892, page 9c,
13 August 1892 (supp.), pages 1-8,
Register,
19 April 1892, page 4d.

"Parliament and Pastoral Land Laws" is in the Observer,
23 July 1892, page 9a.

A lecture on pastoral settlement by the Premier, F.W. Holder, is reproduced in the Advertiser,
11 October 1892, page 7e.

"The North-East Pastoral Country" is in the Chronicle,
20 May 1893, page 22g,
"The Pastoral Bill" on
2 September 1893, page 4d.

"Station Shed Hands - A Difficulty With the Pastoralists" is in the Advertiser,
23 June 1893, page 6c, "Accommodation for Shearers" on
30 December 1890, page 8f,
"Pastoralists and Shearers" on
20 and 25 April 1894, pages 5g and 6e,
"When Shearing Time Comes Around" on
20 May 1933, page 9d.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Sheep and Shearing in respect of shearers.

Annual meetings of the pastoralists' association are reported in the Advertiser,
18 August 1893, page 6f,
15 August 1895, page 6c,
10 August 1899, page 7a,
13 September 1901, page 9b,
28 September 1906, page 8a.

"The Pastoral Industry - Hints to the Government" is in the Observer,
19 August 1893, page 31c,
10 and 24 March 1894, pages 3b and 3c.

"Land at Arkaba, Warcowie and Wilpena" is in the Observer,
16 September 1893, page 5e,
7 and 28 October 1893, pages 5a and 5a.

"The Pastoral Land Bill" is in the Observer,
2 and 30 September 1893, pages 25b and 4b,
Advertiser on
7 October 1893, page 4d,
3 and 14 November 1893, pages 4g and 6a,
15, 24 and 28 September 1896, pages 4f, 4f and 6g.

"Condition of the Pastoral Industry" is in the Observer,
10 and 24 March 1894, pages 3b and 3c,
"The Views of Mr A.G. Downer on the Pastoral Industry" on
14 July 1894, page 14.

A poem entitled "The Squatter's Elegy" is in the Observer,
17 November 1894, page 14d.

Discussion of the Pastoral Bill is to be found in the Observer,
3 and 24 November 1894, pages 24e and 24d,
16 February 1895, pages 2d-3d,
23 February 1895, page 4a,
Advertiser,
2, 16, 22 and 29 November 1894, pages 4f, 4g, 5h and 4e,
20 December 1894, page 4f,
4 January 1895, page 7c,
12 February 1895, page 5g,
29 June 1895, page 4e,
3, 5, 9, 10 and 31 July 1895, pages 4h, 4g, 5f, 5f and 6f,
24 September 1895, page 6a,
20 November 1895, page 4e,
9 March 1896, pages 4e-6a,
23 June 1896, page 4d,
1 July 1896, page 5h,
7, 14, 16, 21, 23 and 30 October 1896, pages 4g, 4f, 4g, 4e, 4g and 4g,
12 December 1896, page 4f,
Observer,
19 September 1896, page 2c,
24 October 1896, pages 2d-24d,
16 July 1898, page 24e,
10 September 1898, page 56c,
3 and 10, December 1898, pages 25c and 2b.

"The Pastoral Laws" is in the Register,
12 February 1895, pages 4e-6d.

"The Pastoral Question - A 35-Years Review", by Richard Dewdney, is in the Observer,
27 April 1895, page 3c.
"The Pastoral Industry - An Interview with Mr Dewdney" is in the Chronicle,
31 August 1901, page 3a.
The reminiscences of Richard Dewdney are in the Register,
26 March 1924, page 10e.
An obituary of R. Dewdney is in the Observer,
5 April 1924, page 18a.

"The Hardships of Pastoral Lessees" is in the Register,
8 June 1896, page 4f,
Observer,
13 June 1896, page 30c.

"The Northern Runs - The Worst Season on Record" is in the Chronicle,
12 September 1896, page 25a.

"Pastoral Settlement" is in the Observer,
20 June 1896, page 3a,
"The Pastoral Industry" on
10 July 1897, page 2c,
"The Pastoral Industry - Through the North-East" on
10 July 1897, page 3a,
12 February 1898, page 3c; also see
Chronicle,
11, 18 and 25 May 1933, pages 8, 36 and 36 (the last two refs. are photographs).

"Pastoralists and Prejudiced Politicians" is in the Register,
23 and 30 October 1896, pages 4g and 4h.

Biographical details of John Kingsmill are in the Observer,
19 December 1896, page 8d.

The reminiscences of W.M. Paterson are in the Observer,
10 July 1897, page 3b.

Biographical details and photographs of "well-known sheep breeders" are in the Observer,
11 September 1897 (supp.).

"The Pastoral Commission - Inspection of the Country" appears in a series of articles in the Advertiser,
14, 16, 20, 22 and 24 September 1897, pages 7b, 6g, 7a, 7a and 7a,
16 November 1897, page 5e,
31 January 1898, page 5h,
2 February 1898, page 7a,
5, 8 and 9 March 1898, pages 8e, 6a and 5i,
20, 22, 27 and 28 April 1898, pages 6f, 6e, 6c and 6c. Also see
24 June 1898, pages 4g-6c,
15 and 22 July 1898, pages 4f and 4f,
3 August 1898, page 10g.
A photograph of members of the 1891 Pastoral Commission is in the Observer,
11 September 1926, page 32.

"The Western Pastoral Leases" is in the Observer,
7 May 1898, page 2d.

"North-West Pastoral Country" is in the Chronicle,
17 June 1899, page 40c.

"Shall We Kill the Squatter?" is in the Observer,
17 and 24 June 1899, pages 4a and 2b-3a.

Biographical details of William McG. Paterson are in the Observer,
22 July 1899, page 44c.

"Shall We Kill the Squatter?" is in the Register,
8, 14 and 17 June 1899, pages 4h, 6f and 6f-8e.

"The Pastoral Act - How it is Working" is in the Advertiser,
23 June 1899, page 6c; also see
13 and 19 July 1899, pages 5g and 6f,
25 July 1901, page 8a,
24 and 27 August 1901, pages 6c and 7f,
27 September 1901, page 5a,
19 October 1904, page 4d.

A map showing abandoned pastoral country is in the Observer,
24 June 1899, page 3.

"Cultivation of Saltbush" is in the Register,
26 February 1900, page 4f,
"An Object Lesson in Saltbush Country" in the Register,
22 November 1904, page 6e,
Observer,
3 December 1904, page 12a.

"Our North-West Country - The Occupied Runs" is in the Chronicle,
30 June 1900, page 4c.

"North-West Pastoral Country" is in the Observer,
23 June 1900, page 2d,
"A New Pastoral Land Bill" on
24 November 1900, page 2c,
"The Pastoral Industry - Important Requests" on
27 July 1901, page 32.

"Dissatisfied Pastoralists" is in the Observer,
14 and 28 July 1900, pages 4a and 3a.

An annual general meeting of the Pastoralists' Association is reported in the Observer,
21 September 1901, page 9c.

"The Pastoral Industry - An Interview with Mr Dewdney" is in the Chronicle,
31 August 1901, page 3a.
The reminiscences of Richard Dewdney are in the Register,
26 March 1924, page 10e.

"Rent Reductions" is in the Chronicle,
5 October 1901, page 33a.

An obituary of Mr W.B. Sells is in the Express,
30 October 1902, page 1e.

The reminiscences of John Jacobs are in the Observer,
31 May 1902, page 25a.

"The Pastoral Areas" is in the Advertiser,
18 November 1903, page 5h.

The reminiscences of Robert Bruce are in the Observer,
28 November 1903, page 12d,
an obituary is in the Observer,
14 November 1908, page 41a.
Also see:
Place Names - Bruce Well
Place Names - Coondambo
Place Names - Wallerberdinna.

"Among Pastoralists - A Trooper and his Narrative" is in the Register on
4 March 1904, page 6g,
Observer,
12 March 1904, page 40a.

"An Object Lesson in Saltbush Country" is in the Observer,
3 December 1904, page 12a.

"Well-Known Sheepmen", G.S. & E.C. Kempe, is in the Observer,
16 April 1904, page 25.

"A Blind Squatter [John Melrose]" is in the Register,
24 November 1904, page 6d,
Observer,
24 December 1904, page 39d.

"The Pastoral Industry" is in the Observer,
24 December 1904, page 38b,
"The Pastoral Industry - Need for Expansion" in the Advertiser,
28 August 1908, page 8b; also see
3 September 1908, pages 6d-9d.

A photograph of "North-West Pastoral Pioneers" is in the Chronicle,
5 August 1905, page 27.

"Station Employment - Life Up Country" is in the Chronicle,
2 September 1905, page 10d.

"A Glimpse of Station Life [on the River Murray]" is in the Register,
25 January 1906, page 7d.

"A Northern Pioneer", the reminiscences of Robert H.S. Brown is in the Observer,
29 September 1906, page 44c,
Express,
2 October 1914, page 3b.
An obituary of Thomas Stacy Brown is in the Register,
11 August 1906, page 6i.

Photographs of McDouall Peak station are in the Observer,
18 May 1907, page 29,
of South Gap station on
13 November 1909, page 27.

"A Pastoral Pioneer - Sketch of the [Bowman] Family History" is in the Advertiser,
20 January 1910, page 6e.

"From Bullock Driver to Pastoralist - The Interesting Hayes Family" is in the Register,
20 February 1908, page 5d.
The reminiscences of W. Hayes are in the Register,
29 April 1908, page 5b.

"The Pastoral Problem - Extent of Vermin Fencing" is in the Register,
6 July 1908, page 7c.

"Pastoralists and the AWU" is in the Advertiser,
27 May 1910, page 11d,
"The Trials of a Pastoralist" on
18 May 1911, page 9b,
15 June 1911, page 9d.

The reminiscences of T.R. Hogarth are in the Express,
15 June 1911, page 3g,
of A.W. Cocks in the Observer,
12 and 19 July 1924, pages 27d and 26e,
of George Brooks on
28 November 1925, page 12a
(obit.
30 October 1926, page 17c),
of C.B. Powell on
21 August 1926, page 45b,
of H. von Rieben on
7 July 1928, page 50d,
of Joe Martyr on
14 July 1928, page 22c.

Information on an "Outback Pioneer", Mr A.M. Wooldridge, is in The News,
2 March 1925, page 9e.
His reminiscences are in the Observer,
1 April 1911, page 50e,
26 November 1921, page 30d
(an obituary appears on
5 December 1925, page 19d).

The reminiscences of Samuel Mills, junior, are in the Advertiser,
16 March 1912, page 20f,
of J.G. Moseley on
21 December 1912, page 7a,
The Mail,
19 August 1922, page 2d and
R.H.S. Brown in the Advertiser,
2 October 1914, page 6f.

"A Squatter's Sacrifice", reminiscences of life on sheep stations, is in the Register,
11 May 1914, page 6f;
the reminiscences of John Bosworth on
22 June 1916, page 5b.

An obituary of Christopher Giles is in the Observer,
8 December 1917, page 30d and
of A.G. Thompson on
23 August 1919, page 14e.

Biographical details of John Conrick are in the Register,
28 February 1908, page 5c,
"Back of Beyond", the reminiscences of J. Conrick, are in the Register,
20 November 1919, page 7b and
in a series of articles in The News commencing on
25 July 1923, page 5b,
"Pioneer and Squatter - Mr John Conrick Dead" is in the Advertiser,
11 January 1926, page 14f.

Biographical details of J.A. Breaden are in the Register,
17 August 1909, page 4e;
an obituary is in the Observer,
22 March 1924, page 39d.

The reminiscences of C.W. Dutton are in the Register,
20 June 1911, page 7e,
Observer,
24 June 1911, page 41a,
"North-West of Port Augusta - The Pastoral Pioneers" is in the Register,
7, 8 and 9 January 1914, pages 14d, 8f and 8b.

An obituary of Charles Hall is in the Register,
22 August 1919, page 7c.

Photographs of station life outback are in the Chronicle,
19 June 1920, page 24.

"A Veteran Philanthropist - McBride of Burra" is in the Express,
19 January 1920, page 1e;
an obituary appears on
14 October 1921, page 1e.

"The Modern Pastoralist - From City to Station by Air" is in the Observer,
16 April 1921, page 34e.
"Early Pastoral Leases" is in the Register,
1, 8 and 15 July 1922, pages 13a, 7f and 13d,
"Pastoral Pioneers" on
25 October 1923, page 6a.

"On the Border - An Historic Obelisk - Some Neglected Graves" is in the Advertiser,
13 and 17 August 1921, pages 13h and 12d - it relates to the country between Renmark and the eastern borders.

"Generous Pastoralists", a letter from A.M. Wooldridge, is in the Advertiser,
24 October 1921, page 13b,
"The Pastoral Industry" on
17 November 1921, page 6d.

"Pastoral Lands" is in the Observer,
11 November 1922, page 31d.

"A Pioneer Pastoralist - Death of Mr William Gilbert" is in the Advertiser,
30 March 1923, page 12e.

Biographical details of John Bailes are in the Register,
6 June 1923, page 15d,
11 November 1925, page 13b (obit.),
Observer,
16 June 1923, page 4b,
of Tom G. Fenn on
3 August 1923, page 13c,
of C.B. Powell on
24 November 1923, page 14c.

"Shepherd Boy to Pastoralist", the reminiscences of Mr Tom Cozens, is in The Mail,
1 September 1923, page 4a.

"Men From the Saltbush", a photograph of pastoral pioneers, is in the Observer,
20 October 1923, page 40.

"The West and North-West of Port Augusta - Stations and Their Owners" is in the Register,
31 December 1923, page 8c,
3, 9, 11, 15, 19 and 24 January 1924, pages 8g, 11a, 11c, 9e, 14a and 11a,
5, 16 and 22 February 1924, pages 11a, 11a and 11b,
8, 20 and 29 March 1924, pages 13a, 11d and 7e,
5 and 16 May 1924, pages 7a and 4h.

"Death of Pastoralist - Mr W.G. Forrester of Minburra" is in the Advertiser,
11 June 1924, page 13c.
An obituary of John Pile appears on
20 June 1924, page 17h and
of J.A. Breaden in the Observer,
22 March 1924, page 39d,
R. Dewdney on
5 April 1924, page 18a.

"The Pastoral Industry" is in the Advertiser,
15 September 1924, page 8g,
5 and 9 December 1924, pages 14c and 12g.

"Pastoral Settlement - Historical Progress" is in the Register,
4 November 1924, page 13c and
the reminiscences of C.F. Murray on
27 November 1924, page 3g.

An obituary of Andrew Smith a "Great Saltbush Pastoralist" is in the Observer,
22 November 1924, page 38e.

"A Cattle Station in the Interior" is in the Observer,
8 November 1924, page 19a.

"Our Pastoral Country" is in the Observer,
14 February 1925, page 7a.

"Pastoral Settlement and Aborigines" is in the Observer,
26 December 1925, page 27e.

An obituary of A. Beviss is in the Register,
26 October 1926, page 9f.

The reminiscences of George Brooks are in the Observer,
28 November 1925, page 19a;
his obituary is in the Register,
25 October 1926, page 9e.

"Stockowners and Security of Tenure" is in the Advertiser,
10 May 1926, page 14c.

"Pastoral Lands Being Devastated" is in the Advertiser,
26 June 1926, page 14d; also see
20 and 22 July 1926, pages 14a and 14c.

"The Vexed Question of Tenure" is in the Observer,
3 July 1926, page 10,
24 July 1926, page 44.

"A Pioneer Grazier - Death of Mr Clement Giles" is in the Advertiser,
28 July 1926, page 19g;
an obituary of George Brooks appears on
25 October 1926, page 10b.

Biographical details of J.M. Lennon are in the Register,
5 December 1925, page 18h.

"Coachman to Squatter", the reminiscences of Frederick A. Crews, is in The Mail,
16 April 1927, page 1f.

Photographs of "sheep and cattle country" are in the Observer,
15 January 1927, page 33,
27 August 1927, page 32.

Biographical details of Harry Boully are in the Observer,
3 September 1927, page 4d.

"W. Thorold-Grant - Pastoral and Other Reminiscences", by A.T. Saunders, is in the Register,
3 March 1928, page 18e; also see
Advertiser,
27 June 1906, page 8h.
His obituary is in the Register,
5 September 1925, page 5h.

"In the Droving Days - Chat With Mr Robert Douglas" is in the Register,
18 December 1918, page 4c.
"A Drover's Memories [P.H. Barnes]" is in the Observer,
19 November 1921, page 2a.
"In the Droving Days" is in the Observer,
14 July 1928, page 22c,
"Wandering Life of Sheep Drovers" is in the Advertiser,
7 March 1936, page 13c.

Biographical details of Alan Breaden are in the Register,
5 April 1928, page 14d.

"Solitude on the Queensland Border - Experiences of Mrs E. Moore Broadbent" is in the Register,
17 July 1928, page 4d.

"An Outback Missioner [Reg Williams]" is in the Register,
20 July 1928, page 19f,
4 August 1928, page 15d.

"Pastoral Pioneering - Early Reminiscences", by Alec Ross, is in the Register,
31 July 1928, page 13f,
3, 7 and 24 August 1928, pages 16c, 13c and 18f,
4 and 26 September 1928, pages 11e and 6d.

"Droughts and Floods - How a Small Fortune Was Lost" is in the Observer,
11 August 1928, page 6e.

"Pastoral Industry - The Government's Proposals" is in the Observer,
15 September 1928, page 54d,
"The Pastoral Bill" in the Advertiser,
24 October 1929, page 18e.

"Far Northern Stations" is in the Observer,
1 September 1928, page 55a.

A history of Koonamore station, north of Yunta, is in the Observer,
22 September 1928, page 5e.

Photographs of "Pastoralists' Troubles" are in the Chronicle,
19 September 1929, page 35.

Runs in the Flinders Ranges are described in the Chronicle,
29 March 1934, page 34,
5 April 1934, page 7.

Reminiscences of life on Pernatty station, by Mrs Crook, are in the Advertiser,
24 July 1934, page 8c.

Photographs of the wives and daughters of northern pastoralists are in the Chronicle,
12 July 1934, page 31.

"Regeneration of Pastoral Lands" is in the Advertiser,
2 December 1937, page 22c.

Squatters & Pastoralists - Obituaries

An obituary of John Taylor is in the Register,
15, 17 and 27 May 1865, pages 2f, 2c and 3a,
of John Ellis on
29 March 1873, page 5b,
of Peter Ferguson on
13 September 1877, page 5b,
of Donald Gollan on
27 February 1888, page 6g,
of Thomas A. Wells on
28 October 1890, page 5c.

An obituary of H.S. Price is in the Register,
3 December 1889, page 5b,
of Mrs H.S. Price on
6 December 1889, page 5b,
of Alfred Wilson on
16 December 1889, page 5b,
of Thomas A. Wells in the Observer,
1 November 1890, page 30a,
of John Armstrong in the Register,
23 December 1892, page 3d,
of John Hensley on
27 February 1893, page 5c.

An obituary of Archibald Jaffrey is in the Observer,
29 April 1893, page 32e,
of N.E. Phillipson on
20 August 1898, page 28b,
of Adam Baird on
18 November 1899, page 30e,
of G.A. Gebhardt on
31 March 1900, page 22a,
of Andrew Dunn on
21 December 1901, page 33d,
of John Whyte on
22 February 1902, page 29e,
of W.B. Sells on
8 November 1902, page 37a,
of Alexander Stewart on
3 January 1903, page 25a,
of T.D. Phillips on
7 February 1903, page 33b,
of H.A Short on
28 November 1903, page 34d,
of Thomas Cockrum on
26 December 1903, page 33b.

An obituary of Charles Gall is in the Register,
21 January 1896, page 5c,
Observer,
25 January 1896, page 29b,
of Maurice Hiern on
27 June 1903, page 21e.

An obituary of John Bowman is in the Observer,
11 August 1900, page 16c.
"A Pastoral Pioneer - Sketch of the [Bowman] Family History" is in the Advertiser,
20 January 1910, page 6e.

An obituary of Christopher Wade is in the Observer,
8 September 1900, page 22c,
of William Sharples on
15 September 1900, page 22d.

An obituary of W.B. Sells is in the Express,
30 October 1902, page 1e,
of Clement Sabine in the Observer,
5 December 1903, page 23e.

An obituary of Henry McConville is in the Register,
30 March 1903, page 4i.
"Voice From the Bush - Pioneer Days Recalled", by H.J. McConville, is in The Mail,
8 September 1928, page 18e.

An obituary of Maurice Hiern is in the Register,
19 June 1903, page 6h,
of George Main on
7 January 1905, page 7c,
of George Marchant on
27 November 1905, page 4h.

An obituary of Thomas Ford is in the Observer,
8 and 15 April 1905, pages 34b and 34c,
of Ernest C. Kempe on
26 August 1905, pages 24a-28 (photo.),
of John Love on
9 September 1905, page 38c,
of John Dinnison on
30 September 1905, page 27a,
of William Hayes on
29 February 1908, page 49c,
of John Maslin on
23 May 1908, page 40b,
of W.C. Burkitt on
11 July 1908, page 40c,
of H.C. Swan on
12 September 1908, page 40a,
of John C. Oaster on
27 November 1909, page 40a.

An obituary of Donald MacLean is in the Register,
20 July 1909, page 5b,
of John C. Oastler on
24 November 1909, page 7b,
of Charles Gooch on
26 November 1909, page 4g,
of William Hamilton on
19 June 1911, page 6h,
of Julius Grunicke on
10 November 1911, page 6h,
of W.P. Hayes on
19 November 1913, page 14b,
of C.W. Davies on
22 January 1914, page 8a,
of John Hirst on
24 August 1915, page 9d,
of R.E. Warburton on
1 August 1917, page 6g,
of James L. Higgins on
24 November 1919, page 6g,
of John Lewis on
1 April 1922, page 8h,
of Thomas P. Gourlay on
4, 9 and 10 April 1923, pages 6g, 9c and 9f.

An obituary of John Jacob is in the Observer,
3 September 1910, page 41c,
of Julius Glunike on
18 November 1911, page 41a,
of John Emery on
7 September 1912, page 41b,
of J.D. Carlile on
14 December 1912, page 39a,
of William Coumbe on
26 July 1913, page 41a,
of J.E. Richter on
20 September 1913, page 15c,
of George Merrett on
24 October 1914, page 30a,
of R.T. Reid on
16 January 1915, page 42e,
of John Hirst on
28 August 1915, page 46c,
of G.S. Kempe on
13 January 1917, page 12b.

An obituary of Christopher Giles is in the Observer,
8 December 1917, page 30d and
of A.G. Thompson on
23 August 1919, page 14e.

An obituary of A.G. Thompson is in the Observer,
23 August 1919, page 14e,
of Charles Hall on
30 August 1919, page 14c,
of James T. Mackay on
25 September 1920, page 19a,
of G.G. Wollaston on
25 September 1920, page 19b,
of Simon Matheson on
5 March 1921, page 31a,
of William Gunn on
30 July 1921, page 31d,
of Edmund Bowman on
27 August 1921, page 37b,
of R.J.M. McBride on
22 October 1921, page 20a,
of John Lewis on
8 April 1922, page 20b,
of James Melrose on
22 April 1922, page 34b,
of William Coulthard on
15 July 1922, page 20a,
of W.H. Greenfield on
28 October 1922, page 35b.

An obituary of M.B. Ive is in the Observer,
24 March 1923, page 24d,
of William Gilbert on
7 April 1923, page 35b,
of T..P. Gourlay on
7 April 1923, page 35d,
of John Crawford on
5 April 1924, page 45e,
of D.H. Power on
31 May 1924, page 45a,
of W.A. Ferguson on
27 September 1924, page 38b,
of Neil McGilp on
7 November 1925, page 44a,
of A.McG. Dey on
26 June 1926, page 10b,
of C.H. Greenfield on
3 July 1926, page 39e,
of Carl Hirsch on
7 August 1926, page 49c,
of A.J. McBride on
11 February 1928, page 50d,
of Henry Daw on
5 May 1928, page 45d,
of M. Rasheed on
31 August 1929, page 40b.

"Death of Pastoralist - Mr W.G. Forrester of Minburra" is in the Advertiser,
11 June 1924, page 13c.
An obituary of John Pile appears on
20 June 1924, page 17h.

An obituary of Andrew Smith a "Great Saltbush Pastoralist" is in the Observer, 22 November 1924, page 38e.

"A Pioneer Grazier - Death of Mr Clement Giles" is in the Advertiser,
28 July 1926, page 19g;
an obituary of George Brooks appears on
25 October 1926, page 10b.

An obituary of A. Beviss is in the Register,
26 October 1926, page 9f,
of Charles Dawson in the Observer,
17 September 1927, page 50a.

Miscellany - Choose again